Phillip Lindley

The Black Death was arguably the single most important event in medieval English history. Not only did it reduce the population by anything up to a half, it also had a dramatic impact on the economic and cultural life of the survivors. The book contains four major essays by J. L. Bolton, C. Harper-Bill, W. M. Ormrod and P. G. Lindley which aim to set the recent debates on the purely demographic impact of the plague into a wider context by evaluating its effects on the broad range of human experience in the later middle ages. Phillip Lindley's essay, for example, considers the effect of the catastrophe on medieval art and C. Harper-Bill examines the effect of the plague on the religious life of the nation. The whole is introduced by a fifth author, Jeremy Goldberg. These are substantial essays on aspects of the plague which have been relatively unexplored by historians. With its many subheadings and index, the book has already proved ideal for teaching purposes and is now in its second printing.… (mais)

This new book is about the practical aspects of the production of medieval art: manufacturing techniques and media, distribution methods and the mechanics of patronage. It is an unusual and immensely useful contribution to art history. The volume provides a thorough introduction to medieval painting and sculpture, combining an analysis of their media and techniques with case studies of important examples such as Giotto's Arena Chapel frescoes and the superb winged altarpieces of the Netherlands. There are also essays on key examples of other medieval arts, such as the mosaics of Ravenna and the Bayeux Tapestry. Each essay is by a leading scholar in its field but is written in a clear style, unlittered by footnotes and with a bibliography of further reading. The book is brought together with an introduction and a comprehensive index of names and places, including the names of specific works of art. Finally, the book is illustrated with a generous spread of 113 superb-quality plates. The book will be particularly useful to students.… (mais)